Results tagged “Ken Cuccinelli” from Blog for Choice

It's that time of the year for giving thanks, and, for everyone in the pro-choice community, there is so much to be thankful for.

We worked with NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico and a coalition on the ground to defeat a ballot measure that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks in the city of Albuquerque - the first known on the municipal level. It was a victory for women's health.

But through canvassing, phone banks and an ad campaign, we communicated to voters how important politicians out of women's most personal decisions. Voters showed up and shut down the later abortion ban, which just goes to show that abortion bans are completely out of touch with real women and families.

In Nebraska, a 16-year-old woman living in foster care was denied permission for an abortion because the judge deciding her case said it would "kill the child inside" her. That's when we sprang into action! We worked with a coalition of progressive partners to gather nearly 87,000 petition signatures to ask that Judge Peter Bataillon be sanctioned for putting his political beliefs above the rule of law and a young woman's welfare.

In California, we worked with NARAL Pro-Choice California to increase access to abortion for California women. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the legislation in October, improving access to early abortion care by allowing trained and qualified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide care to women in their own communities.

But our work reached beyond anti-choice attacks in the states. When anti-choice groups launched an attack on insurance coverage of abortion for congressional staffers, we led a coalition to protect the benefit during a comment period, submitting more than eight pro-choice comments for each anti-choice one received. We won the fight and the administration preserved the right for congressional staff to purchase abortion coverage in their health plans!

We couldn't be more grateful for your support that helped us achieve these and so many other victories in the past year. Thank you for trusting women and supporting choice. What are you thankful for?

"When we look at the overall strategy of ending abortion, not just in Ohio but nationwide, we have to have a strong federal strategy, a very strong state strategy, and then a local strategy to support our pregnancy centers."

This is the final day of our CPC week of action, where we've partnered with Feminist Majority Foundation to tell the truth about CPC lies. Today, we're pulling back the curtain on who keeps dangerous "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) in business.

There are a whole slew of anti-choice organizations with friendly-sounding names that keep CPCs up and running. Care Net and Heartbeat International are two powerful umbrella networks that provide support and training to thousands of CPCs across the country. Through this funding and training relationship, these groups teach new CPC "counselors" strategies to manipulate women.

You don't have to take our word for it. Just listen to Abby Johnson, an extreme anti-choice activist, train new CPC "counselors" on how to lure a woman through their doors and use coercion and lies to talk her out of choosing abortion.

"I would like to congratulate Terry McAuliffe and his team on their victory. Terry ran an aggressive campaign, all the while holding true to his pro-choice values. Throughout this campaign, polls reflected Terry's growing lead with women voters as he connected with them on issues that matter most. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our member activists are proud to have played a role in this victory by getting the truth about the candidates in voters' hands."

McAuliffe defeated Ken Cuccinelli, who during his time as attorney general, personally donated thousands of dollars to "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) that lie to women to talk them out of getting an abortion. Even worse, he cosponsored forced-ultrasound legislation and "personhood" legislation that would ban abortion in almost all cases, with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, and could outlaw most common forms of birth control, including the pill.

Ken Cuccinelli's extreme anti-choice position is incredibly out of touch with women and families in Virginia. That's why we've been making phone calls, knocking on doors, and educating voters through mail and online ad campaigns about Cuccinelli's dangerous agenda leading up to Election Day. We couldn't be happier with the results for pro-choice Virginians.

Next week, voters in Virginia will head to the polls to elect their next governor, and the choice couldn't be clearer. Terry McAuliffe is the only candidate Virginians can trust to protect women's reproductive freedom.

Choice is shaping up to be the top issue for Virginians when it comes to choosing their next governor. That's why we've been knocking on doors, calling voters, and getting the word out about how the next governor of Virginia will determine the future of reproductive rights and privacy in the state - rights that don't fit with anti-choice Ken Cuccinelli's extreme agenda.

So far we've already spoken with nearly 4,000 Virginians and handed out thousands of flyers and notices, educating voters about how this election is crucial to protecting a woman's right to choose. We launched StopKen.com and have graphics and facts about Ken Cuccinelli's record that voters can easily share with their friends.

This week, we began a massive phone-banking drive, making more than 1,000 calls on our first night in solidarity with pro-choice women and families in Virginia to get out the vote for Terry. And our ad campaign to reach voters in the Commonwealth is well underway. We took over the PilotOnline.com with ads for an entire day to make sure Virginia voters could learn more about Ken Cuccinelli's dangerous anti-choice agenda.

If you live in Virginia, make sure to head to the polls on November 5 and vote for Terry McAuliffe and candidates down the ballot who are dedicated to protecting women's personal and private decisions.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Election Day in Virginia is fast approaching. This Wednesday, gubernatorial candidates pro-choice Terry McAuliffe and extreme anti-choice Ken Cuccinelli will go head to head in a debate over important issues for Virginia voters.

That's why we need debate moderator Chuck Todd to make sure Cuccinelli doesn't get away with misrepresenting his record. It's his job to ask the important follow-up questions and hold the candidates accountable for their past actions and statements on an issue that would critically impact women and families in the Commonwealth.

Send Chuck Todd a tweet to urge him to ask Ken Cuccinelli some key clarifying questions about his views on reproductive rights for Virginians. Feel free to borrow our examples below, or make up your own questions:

3. Ken is a big fan of anti-choice "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) that lie to women about their reproductive options.

CPC employees have been caught on tape telling women that birth control causes cancer and saying that birth control is "enslavement."

4. He also cosponsored legislation that would make it more difficult for young women to get birth control and force teens to notify their parents if they want information about STI prevention and emergency contraception.

5. Let's get real: Ken just doesn't want you to get birth control, and CERTAINLY not without a co-pay.

In November, every pro-choice person in the country is going to wish they lived in Virginia just so they'd get the chance to vote against Ken Cuccinelli for governor. Don't get me wrong, they'd be happy to vote for Terry McAuliffe because he's a committed pro-choice supporter who will fight all the attacks coming out of Richmond. But Cuccinelli's devotion to "crisis pregnancy centers"(CPCs) that lie to women and his disturbing record as an anti-choice crusader makes him one of the worst politicians we've seen.

It's kind of a challenge even to narrow down the worst things he's done... but since we know it's hard for most people to keep track of all 228,431,970 anti-choice attacks he's launched, here are our top five:

This is a no-brainer: Ken Cuccinelli wants to ban all abortion. Period. Even for women who have been raped. He opposes abortion so much he said he wants "to make abortion disappear in America." Really? Where's it going to go?

Come on, Ken, the only thing more dangerous than closing clinics that provide actual health care to women is supporting fake clinics that lie to and shame women instead. Naturally, that's one more thing Ken Cuccinelli thinks is awesome.

SBA List is a radical anti-choice group that is actively working to ban abortion nationwide and that supported some of the most outrageous candidates in the 2012 elections. We're working to expose their extreme agenda so that people know what an SBA List-endorsed candidate could do to women's rights.

So what are their plans for the next election cycle?

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA List, has talked about their agenda to enact anti-choice provisions state by state:

"We've identified 12 strategic states where we believe the SBA List can advance the pro-life cause even further. In eight of these states, we're ready to launch field offices if we can raise the resources we need."

SBA List has set their sights on Virginia where they are going all-in to elect a radical anti-choice ally for governor: Ken Cuccinelli.

SBA List has called this year's race for governor of Virginia their "proving ground" for an anti-choice takeover strategy in 2014, supporting candidates even former Republican lawmakers say are focused on "intruding into Virginian's personal lives."

SBA List-endorsed Ken Cuccinelli supports "personhood" bills that could not only outlaw abortion, but most common forms of birth control. He led the charge of state suits against Obamacare (and lost). He championed TRAP laws to close abortion clinics in Virginia. And, of course, he opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.

SBA List has lauded Cuccinelli's anti-choice efforts as "an extension of who he is." They even helped establish a terribly ironic group, "Women for Ken," whose members - we can only guess - don't believe in their own right to reproductive freedom and privacy.

Learning critical lessons from 2012, SBA List has established "Project Lifeline," a training program complete with practice techniques and online video lessons to teach politicians how to hide their own offensive positions on survivors of rape.

Voters weren't fooled the first time, and we certainly won't be fooled by SBA List's attempt to mislead women and trick them out of their own reproductive rights.

This blog post is part of a series that exposes SBA List's radical anti-choice agenda. Check back for our next post on SBA List's flagrant misuse of pro-woman activist's Susan B. Anthony's name.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Allowing women to make the best and most informed decisions about their own lives, however, doesn't fit in with SBA List's radical anti-choice agenda to do away with abortion, contraception, and even sex for purposes other than reproduction.

At the same time that SBA List is working with anti-choice politicians like Rep. Franks to pass this nationwide abortion ban, across the river in Virginia, the group is downplaying its extreme goals in order to help elect another ally to governor: Ken Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli supports "personhood" bills. He led the charge of state lawsuits against Obamacare (and lost). He championed TRAP laws to close abortion clinics in Virginia. And, of course, he opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.

This blog post is part of a series that exposes SBA List's radical anti-choice agenda. Check back for our next post on the SBA List's support some of the most extreme anti-choice candidates in the 2012 elections.

After serving for five years as Virginia's health commissioner, Dr. Karen Remley resigned from her position. She pointed to the political process surrounding the state's new TRAP regulations as the reason.

A dedicated public servant first appointed by then-Gov. Tim Kaine (D), and reappointed by current Gov. Bob McDonnell (R)--Dr. Remley had clearly prioritized public health over politics in carrying out her duties, serving ably under two different administrations. However, she could no longer abide by the political meddling and the departure from sound science the TRAP scheme represented.

After we reported on the pro-choice victory this summer, anti-choice politicians forced the hand of the board of health, and it approved the TRAP regulations on September 26. Anti-choice Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli certified them immediately. The regulations are currently with Gov. McDonnell, who is certain to approve them.

I personally committed to you when I accepted your appointment that I would lower abortion rates in our state by both the application of evidence based approaches and also the thoughtful implementation of abortion regulations if authorized to do so by the General Assembly and signed into law by yourself. I have honored those commitments on both accounts...Unfortunately, how specific sections of the Virginia Code pertaining to the development and enforcement of these regulations have been and continue to be interpreted has created an environment in which my ability to fulfill my duties is compromised and in good faith I can no longer serve in my role.

Despite claims that the TRAP regulations were motivated by concern for women's health and safety, this latest event proves that TRAP regulations are in no way related to public health.

Anti-choice politicians' attempts to close abortion providers in Virginia has been so overtly political that they ultimately drove out a dedicated public servant with an impeccable record for fairness and commitment to sound science.

What does this mean for women? One in three women struggles with the cost of birth control - but all that is about to come to an end. Preventive-health services -including birth control, breastfeeding support, and screening for gestational diabetes- are now available without a copay.

This is a huge step forward in women's health. But we aren't sitting back and relaxing.

Yesterday, in celebration of this huge advancement for women, and to counter attacks on this fantastic policy, our affiliates hosted local events in Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, and Virginia.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, our fabulous activists held a visibility event thanking President Obama for making this important advancement for women possible. Linnea House, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, stood up for women during a TV appearance.

In Concord, New Hampshire, birth-control supporters gathered outside Rep. Charles Bass' office to trumpet the new policy. Bass has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its birth-control policy.

In Columbus, Ohio, activists gathered outside of anti-choice Sen. Rob Portman's office to show him that his constituents support the contraceptive-coverage policy. Sen. Portman has been a high-profile opponent of birth control.

Activists in Portland, Oregon gathered for a "Walk for Women's Health." Special guests included Senate Majority Speaker Diane Rosenbaum, state Representative Lew Frederick, and state Representative Elisa Kenny-Geyer.

TRAP laws are politically motivated, unnecessary, or burdensome regulations imposed on abortion providers -- but not other medical professionals. That's the catch.

Forty-four states and the District of Columbia currently have some sort of TRAP law - although a number of them have been overturned by the courts. Common TRAP laws restrict where abortion care may be provided and force doctors to obtain medically unnecessary additional licenses.

In addition, editorials from the Washington Post and The Virginian-Pilot took Cuccinelli to task for using his office to push a politically motivated agenda that will do nothing to improve women's health services in the Old Dominion. Writers at Slate and The Atlantic weighed in with their thoughts, too.

McDonnell and Cuccinelli are the same politicians who have vowed to outlaw abortion but now want to reinvent themselves as protectors of women's health. That's unconscionable, and the public won't buy it. If the McDonnell-Cuccinelli agenda succeeds, we could see 17 of the 21 abortion providers disappear from Virginia, eliminating women's access to abortion and other services, such as birth control and cancer screenings, that these medical facilities provide.

What Cuccinelli is trying to do is not an isolated incident. Even though abortion is one of the safest and most regulated medical procedures, the anti-choice movement has undertaken a campaign to impose unnecessary and burdensome regulations on abortion providers -- but not other medical professionals -- in an obvious attempt to drive doctors out of practice and make abortion care more expensive and difficult to obtain.

Ever have one of those weeks where you just want to stand on your chair and yell at the top of your lungs, "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!"?

Well, if you're pro-choice and live in Virginia, I imagine you've felt that way in the past week. Pundits, armchair quarterbacks, and reporters, have all declared the Virginia gubernatorial battle over in one way or another. I keep checking my calendar to make sure Halloween hasn't come early this year, because every day brings another "trick" instead of a "treat" when it comes to this race.

So, here's what I'm telling myself and sharing with you: Buck up, baby! The last week of any campaign is grueling and things can change in a heartbeat. And to quote Oprah, the "one thing I know for sure" is that giving up five days before an election is the easiest way to lose the race.

Five days is a lifetime in the world of campaigns. We have five whole days to work like hell for Creigh Deeds and prove all the "nattering naybobs of negativity" wrong come November 3. (Yes, I just gave a shout out to Bill Sapphire - hated his politics, loved his passion for the English language.)

Virginia, we are this close to electing a fully pro-choice governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general - a trifecta of pro-choice champions, if you will - to represent our interests for the next four years in Richmond. This is not the time to give up or give in. If we do, the results could be devastating for women in Virginia. (And no, that's not hyperbole, that's reality.)

Think about Wednesday, November 4. We can wake up knowing that reproductive rights are safe for four years because we spent the last crucial hours of the campaign knocking on doors, making phone calls, taking our neighbors to vote, and telling our pro-choice friends that the only way to protect a woman's right to choose in Virginia is to elect Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner, and Steve Shannon.

Or... we can wake up on Wednesday, November 4 with a pit in our stomachs and the realization that Virginia has elected an anti-choice ticket that, based on their previous actions, is committed to turning back the clock in Virginia when it comes to women's rights - especially the right to choose. Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli don't just seem scary because of things they've said or written. They are frightening because of the actions they've taken against reproductive choice.

Throw away Bob McDonnell's thesis and pretend it never existed. (I'm sure he wishes we all would do just that.) Even IF McDonnell had never written that document while attending Pat Robertson's law school, we'd still have his record: During his 15 years in the Virginia House of Delegates, Bob McDonnell voted 35 times to restrict a woman's right to choose, and he opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

Let's forget for a moment that Bill Bolling has a 100% rating from the Family Foundation and was previously endorsed by an extreme anti-choice group, Virginia Society for Human Life. Or that he not only voted anti-choice consistently without pause, but took the lead and signed onto 16 anti-choice bills while a state senator. Here's the main reason you should vote for Jody Wagner over Bill Bolling: As lieutenant governor, Bolling cast the tie-breaking vote to de-fund Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state - and then went on to brag about it as if denying women access to contraception and reproductive health services is something to be proud of!

Finally, there's Ken Cuccinelli who's running for Attorney General. Ken "I'll only defend laws I agree with" Cuccinelli, who co-sponsored that anti-Planned Parenthood bill that Bolling brags about, wants to be the top law enforcement officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia. If his run-of-the-mill anti-choice extremism doesn't bother you enough, consider this: Ken Cuccinelli was the co-patron of a human life amendment in 2007 that stated that, "life begins at the moment of fertilization and the right to enjoyment of life guaranteed by Article 1, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia is vested in each born and preborn human being from the moment of fertilization." If passed, Cuccinelli's bill would have banned abortion in Virginia - and potentially birth control and In-Vitro fertilization, too. Is this the person you want as your next attorney general?

And if all of this doesn't scare you enough, check out this website and ask yourself if you can handle seeing this on the front page of every newspaper in Virginia on Wednesday, November 4.

Okay. We have five days to make a difference. Five days to change the outcome. Five days to remind ourselves what we're fighting for in this election.

Get motivated. Get angry. Get fired up! Watch this and then tell those naysayers to shut up... we have work to do!